yummy things - home made chile paste

I started making my own chile paste after making the recipe for chili in Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn, one of the foodies that works for Martha Stewart

You get some dried chiles and toast them in a dry skillet for a few minutes on each side, and then cut them open to remove the seeds (unless you want extra spiciness, in which case you would just leave them in) and any stems. Pour enough boiled water over them to cover and let them soak for 5 min or so. Then pulse them in a food processor, adding in as much extra boiled water as necessary to make a thick paste.
I used  dried ancho and chipotle chiles for my big pot o chili. The flavor is more full and complex than when you add a spoon of chile powder. Plus you can control the spiciness a bit better. I want to feed the dinner to a 3 year old, so I kind of need to make sure it isn't scorching.

Source: amazon.com via Tara on Pinterest